Hi guys ! I’m from Canada, and I need some advices on buying my first car. My budget is under 5k. What models/car brands are reliable ? Also, what do I need to verify and ask the seller ? Thanks a lot !
Consider getting a line of credit to increase your buying power and in case you have repair costs in the future.
Absolutely get a set of winter tires, not just for safety in Canadian winters, but also because it should lower the cost of insurance. Do not skip the winter tires.
I recommend a japanese car (Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Honda) with not too many miles (below 60000 miles) and not older than 10 years. These brands have a good longevity. Keep an eye out for engines with a timing chain instead of a timing belt, as the latter needs to be replaced regularly, adding to maintainence costs.
Japanese car with under 60k miles is going to be well over $5k. Considering these things can go well over 400,000km with proper maintenance, finding one in the mid 200s would be fine
Is the car market in Canada that bad right now? In 2021 I got my 2011 Nissan versa with around 60k miles for about 4k (USD). You just have to be willing to pass up some luxury features and find the right deal instead of buying from a dealership.
Keep an eye out for shady things sellers do too, like starting the car before you get there (why wouldn’t they show you a cold start?). Listen very hard for any sounds and ask the owner if they have had it looked at or even noticed it. Ears are a big advantage in car buying. Make sure you don’t notice any shakes or rumbles while driving or turning sharp (bearings=expensive fixes). I won’t recommend brands as other already have, and I’m too into weird cars to offer a normal opinion.
Make sure to check the oil dip stick and transmission dip stick too. And if the car is already when you get there turn it off first thing and just look through car.
toyota corolla.
You live in canada, so buy something with both 4wd / 2wd. Having 2wd for the summer will save you gas money, and having 4wd means its safer to drive in snow (regarding safety from your vehicle and not others).
4wd is not a luxury one can afford on a $5k CAD budget. Snow tires and driving slow are enough to navigate our winters.
A 1st ot 2nd gen tacoma would be awesome for this but WATCH FOR FRAME RUST. some of them have major issues here.
Please stop spreading this misinformation. 4wd/awd does not make a car safer in the snow. Winter tires do. A 2wd with winter tires will perform better than 4wd by a long shot.
According to your logic, a 2wd w/ snow tires will be a 4wd w/ snow tires AND even with a locking rear diff. Have you ever been off roading or gone up a icy slope in the winter?
Toyota Corolla! Or anything Toyota
I have an 03 1.8T 5mt Jetta that I’m keeping maintained mostly myself. It’s fun, old enough that I can consider it somewhat of a beater (I live in the city), and it’s comically easy to park due to the small size. Also, shitloads of aftermarket for it, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Cars are unique, get one that was properly maintained. You will hear a lot of “avoid germans, get a toyota” but I had 0 problems with my previous vw and audi, while my family and friends all had japanese cars and spent ridiculous amounts fixing them. A car’s history matters the most. Oh and stay the hell away from anything french.
German cars can either go 300k miles and be great, or 25k miles and take a crap because their plastic water pump failed (bmw). I’d say they’re very reliable when all preventative maintenance is done. But then so is any car, and most people don’t do preventative maintenance because we are humans.
nothing’s more expensive than a cheap bmw.
I’ve owned 4 golfs, and my impression of vw is regardless of how they’re maintained little issues start popping up everywhere after about 100k miles. No amount of maintenance is going to prevent window switches from breaking for example
My 3.2 vw passat had 250k km or 155k freedom units and it worked like a dream. It even had the much feared dsg gearbox. I only swapped it for audi a4 because I got bored with it.
French cars don’t exist in Canada
Not a Canadian, but: get something that’s common. The more people that have had the car, the more reliable it usually is and the cheaper are parts and repairs.
My first car was a Hyundai Getz which was about 10 years old when I got it, and she died of rust 4 years later. But it was cheap, reliable and had AC.
i don’t think it qualifies as that reliable if rust killed it only 4 years later. car bodies can usually last decades…
unless it had serious unseen rust issues beforehand, or you were driving it in salt all the time.
It had a dead transmission when I bought it, poor thing did not get a wash after winter.
My Audi that I’ve been driving for 8 years gets her belly washed every month. No rust in sight so far.
I bought a 10 year Audi for $5,000 (USD) but then spent something like $10-15,000 in repairs because I’m an idiot.
i wonder if europeans see old audis/bmws in a better light, since these cars are more commonplace over there (more commonly available parts, mechanics know its tricks, and all that)
i wonder if they are less run down or are simply just shitty cars everywhere.
Well the good news is that after I dumped a ton of money into it, it’s running smooth and still looks pretty new. It’s a Typ 8P A3 hatchback which are kind of rare here in the US.
The impression I got from the car history was that owner #2 drove it pretty hard and never maintained it. I’m dreaded owner #3.
oh i love these things, we got a lot of the previous facelift to that one in decent numbers, kinda wanted one to drive pretty hard.
but in good condition such that it would not turn into a black hole for money, because they can sadly get crazy expensive to fix and maintain where i live. 10-15k usd sounds about right but its a huge amount in south america. like i can get new-ish proper car in great condition for that amount.
It isn’t here either. That’s over the course of ~2 years but I’m not wealthy by any means either. I’m lucky to not rely on it for work, so I can wait and take my time repairing it when needed.
Don’t bother with any car that has had any history of accidents.
Even some light accidents ?
Yeah even then. It’s one of those things you just shouldn’t entertain because you don’t want to later discover that a small accident actually did more damage than first realized.
get a pre purchase inspection? there is no reason to pass on a car because it had a fender bender if someone actually looks in over it which everyone should do before a huge investment like buying a car.
I dunno, my philosophy is that cars are a dime a dozen so you shouldn’t ever settle for one with damage when you can eventually find the same one without if you keep looking.
Actually, for a used car, I would recommend to look for a nasty but cosmetic scratch. It’s the kind of stuff which gets you a great discount while not impacting the mechanical performance.
Ah okay ! Thanks for the advice :) !
i think i’ve hear that a Toyota Camry supposed to be the goat in terms of reliability and repairability.
i always asked what they mainly used it for and if it had any repairs or has been in accidents. though i think you can find accidents on the vin number of the car.
good luck! i hope you find a car :)
Okay thanks a lot ! I will keep that in mind !
Pre-Purchase Inspection!! Seriously doesn’t matter what it is you are way better off spending on an inspection than potentially blowing 5k.
The Japanese brands are generally a safer bet for reliability. Toyota is one of the best reputation wise but that comes with an increased price due to that reputation.
A manual transmission is best for reliability IMO, but if for some reason you really must have a automatic look for one with a standard auto transmission rather than a dual clutch box or a CVT. Run away from VW dry clutched dual clutch and Ford Powershift transmissions.
Ideally you would have proof of regular servicing, though a completely good record is harder to get on a low budget. Not only do you want it to have the engine oil changed at the service intervals (depends on the vehicle but often ~10k km) but also the other regular stuff that often gets ignored - e.g. brake fluid, coolant, transmission/diff oils, brake pads/rotors. Keep an eye out for big ticket maintenance items such as timing belt changes (typically due around every 100-150k kms) as these are expensive so are often ignored at the risk of major failure.
If you’re not confident in spotting issues try and bring along a friend or acquaintance who is more familiar with cars to look it over.
Since you’re in Canada where I believe road salt is common check for rust under the car and in places like wheel wells where moisture is likely to be trapped. It’s hard to avoid some rust in such an environment but you don’t want rust holes anywhere or large sections of flaking rust.
I will search for a Toyota, it seems like It is a good company to buy from ! I saw some Yaris and Corolla with a good price. I won’t buy manual, people behind me at stop signs are gonna hate me x). Thanks for your reply :) !!
i don’t know anyone who regretted getting a toyota. you ain’t either.
just make sure its in good condition.
Generally you’ll want something from a Japanese company (Toyota corolla, Honda civic) and check the carfax report for accidents. You can ask about regular maintenance, check to see when the timing belt maintenance is due / if it was done, see if any recalls were taken care of, that sort of thing. If you have a mechanical friend try to bring them to take a look with you.
When you said mechanical friend, I automatically thought of Johnny 5. I think I’m too old to be Internetting right now.
Johnny 5 is alive?
Okay, thanks a lot for reply :) !
